As is well known, pallets are customarily used to transport and store goods. Palletized goods are typically maintained in position above a floor for handling by forklift equipment, i.e., through the insertion of forklift tines into special channels in the pallet or through engagement with the undersurface of the top deck of the pallet.
Pallets have traditionally been formed of wood. Wood pallets, however, have many disadvantages. For example, they are subject to breakage and are therefore reusable only over a short period of time. Wooden pallets are also difficult to maintain in a sanitary condition, thereby limiting their usability in applications where sanitation is important, such as in food handling applications.
In the past decades, with the growth of the plastics industry a wide variety of plastics have been investigated to determine their suitability for use in producing pallets. Plastic pallets can easily be molded and are stronger and lighter weight than wooden pallets. They can also now be made with recyclable materials. Furthermore, plastic pallets are more durable than wooden pallets. Plastic pallets have only been employed to some degree of success, however. Although plastic pallets heretofore have been generally durable, have been reusable over an extended period of time and have been easy to maintain in a sanitary condition, they have suffered from the disadvantage of cost. Although manufacturing costs are reflected in the cost of the plastic pallets, a principal reason that plastic pallets cost considerably more than comparable wooden pallets is that they require a given amount of relatively expensive plastic material for a desired measure of pallet strength.
Another significant issue with plastic pallets is the tendency of payload to slip on the pallet and of the pallet to move either relative to forklift tines or a transport surface. Obviously, if payload slips on a plastic pallet or the pallet tends to slide relative to forklift tines, or move on a transport surface, its commercial acceptability will be limited.
Thus, there remains a need in the art for a plastic pallet structure with improved strength to weight ratio, reduced cost and an anti-slip design. The structures presented herein are directed to this need.